It was a bright day in May, and the clock was striking 15:48. Yes, it was the first ever GoodGym bell-ringing social! The secret, according to task owner Lady Andrea (she’s really a Lady!), is to pull down sharply and just hold steady. Which various GoodGymers succeeded in doing, and all of them (well, apart from Kate) even stayed on the ground! The bells peeled out and the local populace probably emerged from their homes expecting a church service, some kind of jubilee, or just the surprisingly early arrival of four o’clock

Earlier, we did fulfil our usual “big-Monday night task”, albeit in the afternoon this time, with our efforts endorsed by the good Lady, who gave us "many thanks to all who attended". Emma J was trying to unearth a stubborn root, while litter duties were undertaken by Ilana, Fiona (all the way from Highams Park) and Jackie (all the way from Camden Town). Meanwhile Jack (all the way from Redbridge), Chloe (all the way from the next block but one) and Kevin beavered away at the growing plot, oblivious to some mayhem going on nearby

Four GoodGymers struggled for some time to separate a large bush from the earth beneath, then Lucinda arrived from nowhere (Tooting), applied her well-practiced carpet-rolling technique, and the roots just surrendered. Emma R was doing excellent work manoevering the dug-up weeds, dead leaves and large picked-up branches into small bags, while Emma J was pulling furiously, in a valiant attempt to unearth the stubborn root

Zak appeared for his first GoodGym and threw himself into the task and the conversation. Louise didn’t sign up until the clock was striking two, but that was nothing to do with us, this time

Nia, fresh from doing her first ever half-marathon - faster than she ever expected - introduced us to a first-timer, Alex. In contrast, Kate is a veteran, having undertaken her debut task all of three years ago before disappearing to the far North. Meanwhile Emma J was making a sterling effort, trying very hard to unearth that stubborn root

Sam had just about recovered from his amazing efforts in the London marathon, where he somehow evaded the gaze of every mile-24 GoodGym cheerer. Rue kept everyone informed with a stream of fascinating facts, before we moved on to our bell-ringing duties - all apart from Emma J, determined to unearth a stubborn root…

On a bright and sunny afternoon, a small crew of GoodGymers gathered at Whitechapel Station for the second instalment of our borough-wide leafleting mission, this time taking on the streets of Whitechapel.

With a route mapped out and flyers in hand, we set off on foot, weaving through a maze of backstreets that many of us had never explored before. Each turn seemed to reveal a different side of the area, from quiet residential corners to bustling community hubs, reminding us just how much there is to discover right on our doorstep.

The leafleting itself was a bit of a mixed bag. Some spots were unfortunately closed, while others turned into mini treasure hunts as we searched, sometimes in vain, for elusive letterboxes. Still, persistence paid off and we managed to get the word out in plenty of places along the way.

Pet spotting was notably down on the previous outing but the sunshine and good company more than made up for it. And, as ever, where leaflets could not be delivered, notes were taken for follow up.

We wrapped things up back near Whitechapel with a well earned pub cooldown, celebrating a job well done.

Join us next time around Stepney and Limehouse.

5 Goodgymers descended upon Andrews Street on a sunny Saturday morning: Chloe walked along the canal, arriving first on the scene, Chris cycled, John,Hilary and Lucinda jogged together after completing Mile End parkrun at varying speeds.

We were greeted by task owner Geraldine, fellow gardener Keith, and chickens (!). Huge excitement at there being chickens. We gradually met the rest of the friendly gardening crew as they arrived one by one. Greening Brownfield community garden sits on old tennis courts and is a green, wildlife oasis in the middle of Poplar. Geraldine pointed out a large urn which is home to great tits, who return year after year. Wrens also nest somewhere in the garden. Magical.

Some of the raised beds had become structurally comprised owing to flimsy bases. The task, therefore, was to shovel the soil out of these beds, saw the legs off, and shovel the soil back in. Bags, spades and forks were helpfully provided to aid us in our mission.

Chris wins the shovelling innovation award for sweeping soil backwards with a spade through a gap in one of the beds, direct into a bag.

Sawing experience was gained by all. The chickens clucked away in approval. There were surprise potatoes (no-one knew who had planted them). This task really had it all.